splices

[advanceMan]

Some weeks back, i noticed a thread from a guy who "smoked a cable tv feeder" (i believe that was the quote). he said where he was they didn't splice lines, they re-drilled them. Does anyone know why this practice occurs?

[Goldenboy]

They rarely ever do splices in my area either. If a line gets hit they replace it from ped to ped. From what I've been told with all the digital phone and high speed internet on the CATV lines that the splices just don't hold up well enough to keep good signals, the splices deteriorate in time.

[6feetunder]

It's because at every splice point you will lose a certain amount of signal strength, so too many splices = crappy service, or so I've been told by the cable dudes. That would make a big difference in services such as the high-speed and digital phone as Goldenboy stated.

[Globalview]

That's right...



Left is right.

[Globalview]

6feet-

That's right.


Dennis Miller rules in Joe Dirt

[Globalview]

Dennis Miller Rules in Joe Dirt!

[Oldschoollocator]

It's because at every splice point you will lose a certain amount of signal strength, so too many splices = crappy service, or so I've been told by the cable dudes. That would make a big difference in services such as the high-speed and digital phone as Goldenboy stated.

This is correct for each splice DB'S are lost, it differs from size of cable to type of splice, now as for the replacement or splice repair it depends an a few things.
1) who was at fault is this a billable damage to someone?
2) does the cable provider really truly care about customer service?(most do I know of some that really don't.
and as an old cable dog watch out the big boys will do everything they can to screw the locater or contractor.

[sprayandpray]

Yeah, I've heard AT&T techs say that they have needed to replace a section and had just been waiting for it to get hit. Don't even think that the Utility is your friend - they are looking for any way possible to hang it in you!

[advanceMan]

You are all right, more or less. When a network is designed, attenuation(signal loss in db's) is factored into the engineering design from point to point. Though in some instances a splice may be necessary as a temporary patch, it is not preferable. Also, in terms of fibre, fora tech to perform a splice, requires a clean and heated area, usually the back of the truck. There isn't usually enough slack in a break for the splicer to bring the cable up to their truck, and performing this kind of work. And bringing the fusion splicer into a hole usually isn't done. This is where costs come in in terms of hits as you can imagine the locating, the drilling, possibly crossing agreements, splicing, hoe work, labour, (and other stuff i'm probably missing cuz I gotta be fast this morning), comes into play. More later, gotta go.

[GPGrasshopper]

advanceMan is right. Attenuation is huge factor when dealing with singals that carry both audio and video feeds. If the signal gets too bad, the customer gets a crappy image. In the world of HD everything, nobody wants to take a chance on the splice holding. Same thing for Fiber, even with the newer fusion packs, you still have to put the scope on it and most of the time its just cheaper for the company to run a new Fiber drop than worry with it.

[Bob at UTA]

I was once was told by a contract manager for a communication company, that they have every right to replacing the cable when it gets damaged. He said that it is the only way to fully restore the cable to its original conditions. On each damage he either bills the excavator or his contract locating company for the cable replacement because every splice on his cable creates resistance. He also stated that before they began contracting out their locating and marking, they did splice the cable when it was damaged as long as it was the only splice between the span.
A few other reasons not to splice
- In an earlier life, I used to perform cable splicing as well as fault finding on communication cables while serving in the Airforce. The majority of the faults I located were created by bad connectors at a splice. When splicing the wires, we were required to do a resistance/ohms test on the wire after the connector was placed. We did this by applying our test leads on each side of the connection and then taking an ohms reading through the connector. We had a certain “acceptable” level of resistance expected from each connector, if the connector exceeded the resistance rating, we replaced it.
- Many emergency cable repairs include an extra piece of cable and two splices. Since each splice is a potential fault and each wire connection adds resistance on the cable, you can see why many communication companies are choosing to exercise their perceived legal rights for collection for the replacement of the cable span. In an earlier life I also negotiated damage claims for a few contract locating firms, I once had two separate invoices for the same damage, one invoice for the emergency restoration and the other for the post damage replacement of the line.
Increased cost for the repair
- I hope that the contract locating industry takes a closer look at their legal liabilities when submitting a bid to companies that replace instead of splice. Add this to the fact that many phone companies can and are billing for down time of each pair in the cable or each strand of fiber when damaged. It amazes me that companies can submit bids for locating at less than $20 per locate and survive.

[Red105]

if a splice causes a crappy service farther down the line ,then what is the difference with a cross country cable strung together with peds?

what i mean to say is this. what is the difference between the splices they use for a repair and the splices in pedestals that cause the splice cans to create poor service but the ped splices do not.

i think it might be that they are in a hurry when a damage occurs, or maybe because the ends of the cable are inside the ped, making them easier to splice?

hopefully someone smarter than me knows and will tell me, cuz now i'm curious?! lol

[Dave72]

For sure, there would be lots of splices before and after the damage spot.
Even still.. adding that one extra splice does add insertion loss in the couplers. In addition, having the repair splice buried into the ground is a weak point.. maybe some future troubles there.